Archive for April, 2011

The real presence of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is not a gooey feeling; essentially an uptick of serotonin in your brain tissue. It is not the feeling like that of corporately holding hands and singing together — Muslims can create these kinds of sentiments. This may be harder for some women to grasp than some men; men understanding more intuitively that it is an offense to try to manipulate another man by appealing to his emotions; but I leave that aside and ask the female reader to not take offense at this generalization. Your awareness, of course, may be accompanied by feelings; or not. And you only see a part of Him, not the whole. Just because you sense His comfort does not mean that is the whole of His being; or for that matter if you sense only His conviction or His leading, etc.

Key: It’s not about your feelings but your awareness. When He reveals Himself to you He was there all along; your eyes were only opened. And out of His love and respect for you He does not have you in that state at all times. Since you were created with emotions, these (your feelings) will accompany His presence just as you would be happy to see a friend.
—
edit: Who has the most spectacular scandals? Is it not those who lean Pentecostal/Charismatic? Why is this? It is not because they have not experienced the Spirit. It is, rather, that they use emotions at times to try to replicate the experience which they seek. These feelings lead them astray; when what they needed to do was be quiet before Him instead of making noise. They also get hoity-toity about having felt Him; always a bad attitude to have. It will get you, too, if you stray this way. It is possible — I am not wise enough to say — that men who are by inclination or constitution more emotionally sensitive may have a facility for listening quietly for Him. It is likewise possible that I am mistaken in this and don’t have the breadth of experience and thought on this to know what I am speaking of.

Consider: This man did not start out with bizarre, unorthodox theology; nor plan to leave his wife for an intern. Strang Publishing, once a house organ of the Charismatic movement, now shills for a woman who claims to have seen in a vision Christ telling her that non-tithing Christians do not go to heaven. You can go astray in more ways than things like seeking emotions from a woman not your wife; and those ways can be very serious matters indeed, even if the crowds love you.

You must accept — and weave into your thinking — that there is such a thing as “Large-W” Wisdom, and also such a notion as “small w” wisdom.

Seek them both. Large W Wisdom is specific Wisdom from God such as a Word of Knowledge or Word of Wisdom; or betimes the specific leading of the Holy Spirit. And wisdom is more conventional; “wise” thinking as opposed to foolish thinking.

Don’t let someone press you to accept that something is Wisdom rather than wisdom, or vice versa. And take care that you know the difference in matters of import.